Team RMRS
by Sentinel66
Summary: "When I enlisted in Beacon Academy, I wanted a fresh start, I wanted an escape from my past. I never imagined I'd have a Merc, an Illusionary and an Assassin on my team, we may sound like an odd quartet, but the four of us fit perfectly. It wasn't until after Initiation that remnants of my past began to surface, and I knew I would never be allowed to forget." Rated M for Violence.
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to Beacon

A/N]] This is my first time attempting a project this big, and my first time putting something on . The first three chapters aren't too long, since, at the time I wrote them, I wasn't in the greatest of moods, but the fourth chapter is probably longer than the first three combined. Anyway, the story starts out in the view of our protagonist, M, a swordsman who is trying to leave his past behind, but he will soon find out that not all things are meant to be forgotten.

* * *

><p>Beacon Academy. Even better than I'd pictured. I took in a breath of the fresh air as I stepped off the airship, pulling my baggy red sleeves over my concealed weapons. It would still be a while before we were required to gather in the main hall. The ship took off behind me, presumably to go pick up more students. With nothing else to do, I headed to the main hall, before starting to wander the halls, seeing little to no students there. Everything seemed to be going normally, but then I heard a girl scream.<p>

"Please, stop! I didn't do anythi- Ow!" I began running to the source of the disturbance. I rounded a corner, disgusted by what I saw. A group of students were standing around a girl who was on the floor curled up, trying to keep herself from getting too badly hurt. A crossbow-like weapon was a few feet away. I assumed it was hers, otherwise she'd be defending herself. A student kicked her, eliciting a cry of pain from her, and her doubling over. Another student kicked her, causing her to cry out once more. I snapped out of my shock, before deciding what to do.

"Hey!" I shouted. All three of them turned to look at me, confusion, fear and anger on their faces. Subjective Bastille's blades unfurled from my arms. "Leave. Her. Alone." I ordered. "Or what?" one of them taunted. "Or, you'll get one of these blades lodged in your chest. Give or take a few Dust infused shotgun shells." To emphasize my point, I transformed Subjective Bastille to their gun modes. One of them took a step towards me, but another placed a hand on their shoulder, stopping them.

"Don't." They said to the other. "He was in the top 25 highest ranking students in his class to graduate from Sanctum. He may be a first year like us, but he's seen more than we could imagine. There's a reason all he goes by is 'M.' You don't wanna mess with him." He said. I didn't want to brag, but it was true. The first student grunted. They shrugged the other's hand off, turning around and walking away. One of the trio followed him, showing no other response to what was said. The last one, who knew who I was, stayed behind. I gave him a nod, and he returned the gesture. I had some respect for him; he didn't partake in the group's beating up the student-who was still on the ground. He walked away, and Subjective Bastille returned to their rightful places on my arms, in storage mode. I picked the girl's weapon up off the ground in one hand, offering my other to help her up. She took it, and I pulled her up. Seeing nothing else to say, I asked her what her name was. "R-Rebecca..." She responded, keeping her eyes firmly locked on the floor. "Hey." I put my hand on her chin, tilting her head upwards. Her eyes locked with mine. "They're gone now. If they ever come back, just give me a shout. Everyone calls me 'M.' Don't ask why." I said. "Well, see ya." I said, removing my hand from her chin and tapping her shoulder. I handed her the crossbow, and turned around, starting to walk away.

"W-Wait!" She shouted. I stopped, turning back around. "Yes?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She opened her mouth, as if trying to say something. Her face turned a light shade of scarlet. She turned her head to the ground once more. "Thanks..." Was all she said. I nodded, smiling.

"No problem. Like I said, if you ever need a hand, just give me a shout." I responded. She glanced up at me, her face still pink. "I will, M." I nodded, turned around, and walked back out to the doors to the main hall. More airships were arriving with more students. A large amount of them walked past me directly into the hall, though a handful just wandered the campus. There was a small dust-influenced explosion in one of the courtyards, but I wasn't even going to ask about that. Some girl wearing a white combat skirt sauntered past me, glancing at me, then looking forward again. _Note to self: do not to ask her the time of day..._ I thought. I brushed it off, deciding not to be bothered by it. _She probably has her reasons._ I waited there for a few minutes, before entering the hall once more. It took a few more minutes before Professor Ozpin cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.

"I'll... Keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will only prove knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you, to take the first step." He said. "You will gather in the Ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins." Professor Goodwitch added. Something about what he said didn't sit right with me. Seeing some people already heading to the ballroom, I decided to not let it bother me, for the time, at least. I simply wandered the grounds, trying to see if I could find a spot that could become mine and/or my future team's 'usual spot.'

Hours Later

I entered the Ballroom, intrigued by the academy's sleeping arrangement. And by sleeping arrangement, I meant a bunch of sleeping mats, spread quite hastily on the floor. I peeled off my red coat, though I still wandered the room, tired, but not sleepy. I spotted Rebecca in the corner of the room; she had moved a sleeping mat into said corner. She was wearing a light blue nightgown with navy blue accentuations, quite the contrast to her dark purple hair. She was reading a book, in an almost fetal position. Before I could realize it, I was practically looming over her, no recollection whatsoever of walking over to her.

"Hey." I said. She yelped from me surprising her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." "It's alright." She quickly responded. "May I sit?" I asked, motioning to the spot next to her. "Hm? Oh. Uh... Sure." She replied. I put my back to the wall, sliding down it and sitting next to her. "Whatcha reading?" I asked. "Oh... Nothing..." She said, putting the book away. "So, you're from Sanctum. Did anyone else you knew from there come here?" She questioned. _Had she planned this?_ "Well, I know Pyrrha Nikos is here this year." I replied. "The girl on the Marshmallow Flakes boxes?" She inquired. "Yeah, her." I chuckled.

"Oh, not you again!" I heard from across the room. It was the girl who was wearing the combat skirt earlier, and two others. Well three, but the third one didn't seem to be paying attention to the others. Rebecca giggled. "I'd hate to be over there right now. I'd rather not suffer the wrath of the 'Ice Queen,' Weiss Schnee." She said. _THAT'S The Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company?_ "Agreed." I said, before yawning. "Well, I'm gonna call it a night." I said, standing back up. "Okay, talk to you tomorrow!" She said, smiling. I walked back to my mat and laid down, quickly falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Partners

"Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, all first year students, please report to Beacon Cliff, immediately." Professor Goodwitch's words echoed in my head on the way there. I stepped on the launchpad, before looking at everyone else here. There was still a good amount of launchpads with no one on them. Some of the students further down the line were conversing. I began to recollect this morning's events, having no one else to talk to, and waiting for the others to show up.

"-Making me wear this stupid corset…" Were the first words I'd heard when I'd woken up. I sat up and looked around. It really didn't seem like anyone else was awake-and then I spotted Rebecca. She was almost all dressed up in her combat gear, though, she was having trouble with-you guessed it-her corset. I looked around again. Some people had already left, though, by the looks of things, Her and I were the only ones awake in the entire ballroom. I considered going back to sleep, but I eventually decided to try and help her.

"Hey!" I whispered. She looked around before she saw it was me. "You need some help?" I asked. She seemed to mull it over in her head, before replying with, "Sure, it's almost impossible to do this without a second pair of hands." I walked over and sat behind her, taking the laces in my hands. "Now just tighten it and-Ah! Hey!" She exclaimed. "Sorry! Made it a bit too tight." I said, quickly loosening the corset a little. "That alright?" I asked. "Yeah." She said. I tied the laces together. "There." I said, standing up. She stood up as well, spinning back and forth, I believe trying to see if the corset and skirt would fall off. "Perfect. Not too tight, and not too loose either." She said. She picked up a navy blue jacket with white accentuations-man, she liked the color blue-and layered it over her shoulders. Her hands were barely protruding from the sleeves. "Bit big, isn't it?" I asked, chuckling a little bit. "It's supposed to be that way." She responded, smiling. Considering how open it was in the front, but long at the sleeves, it made sense. "I uh, think you're still missing something." I said, pointing at her shoe-less feet. She wiggled her toes in her stockings, eliciting a small laugh from me. She stuck her foot into the combat boot near her. "…Where's the other one?" She asked, most likely to herself, and looking around. She took a few steps towards me, but then her foot caught on something, causing her to fall-straight towards me. I tried to catch her, but I lost balance as well, and we both fell. _Please, don't let anyone see this, or I'll never hear the end of this,_ I thought. It took me a second to realize I'd closed my eyes when she fell onto me. I slowly re-opened them, and Rebecca had raised herself ever so slightly above me. I kept my eyes trained on hers, making sure not to let them slip downward to the uh, "view."

"Sorry…" She said, rubbing the back of her head and starting to get up. Her cheeks had the same scarlet color as yesterday. "It's alright, it's nothing permanent." I responded, getting up after she had. "Also, I think I found your other boot." I said, pointing at the former lump under the blanket. "Thanks." She said, grabbing it and putting it on. "S-See you at the cliff!" She said, hurrying off, and almost tripping on her own feet, most likely due to embarrassment. I wasn't bothered by it, as I'd probably do the same in her position. I headed back to my sleeping mat, pulling my combat gear out of my satchel.

"Well, aren't you a gentleman?" I looked up, greeted by a blonde haired woman in a tank top and shorts. "I beg your pardon?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow. "A girl having trouble with her corset? Almost any other guy would've easily tried to take advantage of that kind of situation." She clarified. "Not to mention the bit where she fell on top of you." My gaze could no longer meet hers. It took all my willpower to make sure my resolve didn't waver. "If you'd excuse me, I'd like to get properly dressed in peace."

I snapped out of my dazed state, someone having nudged me. "Everyone's here." They said, before turning back to Ozpin.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors; and today, your abilities will be evaluated in The Emerald Forest." He said. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates-today." Professor Goodwitch added. "These teammates will be with your for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin stated. "What?!" One girl exclaimed. "See? I told you." Another said. I gulped. The only people I knew here were Rebecca and Pyrrha.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." _Sounds simple enough…_ "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one, and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" He asked.

"Yeah, um, sir-"Someone asked, before getting cut off. "Good. Now, take your positions." Subjective Bastille unfurled from my arms to their gun forms. I took up a defensive position, waiting for the launchpad to go off. Three launches left. Two launches. One. I was launched into the air. As soon as ascent turned to descent, I began firing Subjective Bastille to slow down. I turned one of them to blade form, jabbing it into the side of a tree and sliding down. The usual whirs and clicks were heard as they transformed back to storage mode. I looked around, before starting to walk north, remembering the objective.

I heard something nearby; causing me to transform my weapons to gun and blade forms, respectively. I walked towards the source of the noise, only to see something rush away. I held up my weapons, going more for defense rather than offense. I dared not make a sound. Suddenly, a Beowolf jumped out at me, swinging its sharp claws at me. I jumped backwards, barely dodging the attack. Another one jumped towards me and I did a backflip to avoid being hit. I fired at the nearest one and used the momentum to hit the other with my blade. I landed five hits before it was able to swing at me. I jumped and fired to get away from it. The large creature collapsed, dead.

_Still one left._ I thought. I turned to where it was, only to find it had already been slain. Three crossbow bolts jabbed into the ground near my feet. They emitted a high-pitched noise, and I attempted to jump away, but I still got knocked down.

"Oh come on, you had to have seen that coming." A voice said. I heard a thud, like something dropping, and I saw a silhouette in the smoke. It cleared, and the person turned out to be Rebecca; with a hand outstretched towards me.

"A little bit more warning might have helped." I said, taking her hand. I thought about pulling her down, but I decided against it, pulling myself up, not wanting a repeat of this morning. "You're just lucky I able to trigger my aura at the last second." I said. She smiled and rolled her eyes at me.

"Those Beowolves were after me, you know. I landed first, but then they spotted you." She stated. "Hm." Was all I responded with. "Gonna have to get you back for that one day." I said, winking. She pushed me hard enough that I almost lost my balance.

I heard the all too familiar sound of gunfire. "That way." Rebecca said, pointing north. "Come on! Let's go!" Rebecca shouted, already taking off. _She's fast…_ I thought, starting to run myself. More gunfire.

"Come and get me!" Someone shouted. "That sounded close." I said, slowing down. Rebecca did the same. We followed the gunfire and shouting, bringing us to a clearing. We saw an old friend of mine fighting an Ursa Minor. She jumped onto its back, firing three shots into the back of its head. It roared, and she backflipped off of it. The creature swung at her, and she dodged it, though it left a few tears in the side of her robes. She lunged at its underbelly, her weapons spinning at her wrists to reveal two blades-one on each arm. She jabbed both blades into it, the creature roaring again from pain. She jumped back, the creature falling where she was a second ago, causing her to laugh.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you Samantha?" I asked rhetorically. She spun around, grinning. "M!" She exclaimed, hugging me. Rebecca cleared her throat, causing Samantha to let go of me and extend a hand to Rebecca. "Samantha White. I graduated from Sanctum like M here." She said. Rebecca took her hand and shook it.

"Rebecca Royale. Graduated from Signal." She responded. "I'm just gonna stick to you two until I find my own partner." Samantha said. "Alright." I said, seeing no problem with it. We began walking north to the temple. I didn't notice at first, but the others were being unusually silent. I had a feeling that if Samantha and Rebecca both ended up being on my team, that this would be a long four years.


	3. Chapter 3: Teams and Twins

We kept walking, meeting no resistance along the way, though we were pulled out of our reverie by a scream.

"That sounded close, come on!" I shouted, already sprinting.

POV change

? POV

I rolled out of the way of the creature swinging at me. _I need to get my weapon back! _I thought. I looked up, only to see a clawed paw inches from my face. I got flung into a tree, losing consciousness before I hit the ground.

M's POV

We found the area where we had heard the scream, only to find a group of Ursai and an Ursa Major. Subjective Bastille unfurled from my arms, Rebecca pulled out her Crossbow-Pickaxe hybrid, and Samantha flipped Unyielding Revenge to Revolver mode on both arms. One of the Ursai spotted us, roaring. I charged at it, firing four shots at its underbelly and stabbing the bottom of its head. It roared in pain this time. I fired two more shots into its head, and it began to fall. I retracted the blade, jumping back, and leaving the creature's lifeless form where I was moments before. I heard an explosion, and when I looked, there was another Ursa down.

_Two down…_ I thought. I ducked under an Ursa swinging at me. I unloaded three shells into its underbelly, but the next thing I knew, I was flying through the air. I hit the ground-Hard. I began coughing, trying to regain control over my breathing. I looked up, seeing Rebecca and Samantha facing off against the remaining Ursai and Ursa Major.

_From what I've seen, the two of them can handle this… The question is, who or what were the Ursai fighting against before we came along?_ I looked around a bit, before spotting someone else on the ground, and a few metres away from him was a Shotgun with a weird attachment on the top. I got up from the ground, seeing the guy had already started to come to. All that was left now was an Ursa and an Ursa Major. I ran towards the Major, firing at it. It turned towards me, opening its blind spot to Samantha and Rebecca. Rebecca changed her ammo to regular bolts, and Samantha jumped on the creature, jabbing her blades into its back. It roared, trying to shake her off. Rebecca fired multiple bolts into its side. I tried to fire at it, but the clicking quickly signalled that I had spent all my shells. I tapped the two weapons together, causing the spent shells to pop from their positions in Subjective Bastille. I pulled two more ammo belts from my pouch and reloaded my weapons.

? POV

I awoke to the sound of gunfire. I looked up, surprised to see a group holding their own against the larger-than-usual Ursa Major that had knocked me out. I picked up JINX, letting the barrels split and wrap around my arm, and the chainsaw reform into one piece in the barrels' place. I pulled the trigger, causing the plasma on the blade to charge and cycle around it, heating it up. I charged towards the Major, stabbing it in one of its front legs, causing it to roar and swing at me with its other paw. I jumped back, but still got scratched in the process.

"Samantha, M, cover me!" The girl in the blue skirt and corset shouted. The other two started firing at the Major, and the first girl jumped onto it. It roared once more, trying to shake her off. I transformed JINX to shotgun mode, firing into the creature's side.

_Wait, wasn't there…?_ I turned seeing the final Ursa Minor charging towards me. I fired three rounds into it, before bringing JINX back to chainsaw mode and using the creature's momentum against it, cutting off its right legs in the process. It slid past me, coming to a halt a few metres away. I turned towards it, grabbed a grenade from my pouch, and tossed it at what was left of the minor. I turned back to the others, only to see they had already dispatched the Major. The grenade exploded as they were walking towards me. I took this time to get a good look at the trio. There was a guy, maybe slightly taller than me wearing a red coat with dark hair and a scar on his mouth, a slightly shorter girl wearing white robes with red trimmings with her dark hair in a ponytail, and a black scarf covering most of her features, and an even shorter girl with dark purple hair, wearing a blue skirt, corset and jacket that ended just above her fingers. The girl in the robes pulled her scarf down and extended a hand to me.

"Samantha White. Guess we're partners now." I took her hand and shook it. "Rick. Rick Dewitt." I stated. "Well then Mr. Dewitt, guess we're partners now." She said, letting go of my hand. "Indeed."

M's POV

We headed north, to where Ozpin said the temple would be. _Okay, so, Rebecca and I are partners, and Sam and Rick are partners as well. Assuming teams are decided by the teachers, if they were watching they will most likely put the four of us together after that battle. Though, if that isn't how teams are decided, then, well, we'll just have to see where we en-wait, why am I on the ground?_ I snapped back to reality, only to see someone with a hood on top of me. The shadow of the hood obstructed most of their features from me. I tried to bring one of my arms up to do something, but they were pinned to the ground. The attacker growled at me, revealing sharp fangs. A blade, very similar to Samantha's old wrist blades, extended from the attacker's wrist. "Hey, hey whoa!" Was all my mind could come up with.

"Serenity! Stand down!" An unfamiliar voice said, pulling the attacker off, and knocking the hood slightly askew.

"My name, is Insanity!" The attacker said, their voice obviously put through some sort of filter. Their remark probably would have been more threatening, were it not for the other hooded figure holding them back. I pushed myself off the ground, looking at the odd pair. The attacker struggled in the other's grasp. "Serenity, calm down, they're just students like us." The taller of the pair said. The shorter growled. "Fine, Marcus." She said, putting emphasis on the name. The taller, Marcus, showed no response, aside from letting Serenity go. The shorter, Serenity, adjusted their hood and turned back north, to the temple. "Sorry about that." Marcus said, turning away and following Serenity.

"That… Happened." Rick said, walking up beside me. I myself was still processing all that just happened.

"That was Serenity and Marcus Black. Twins. I've never seen their faces, but they're in the same little 'group' of assassins that I'm in." Samantha whispered to me.

"You coming?" Rebecca said, ahead of the group, but looking back at us. I shook off my stupor. "Yeah, let's go."

It took a while, but after a brief discussion about whether or not we should go help someone that screamed really high pitched and loudly, we came to a clearing.

"Whoa." Samantha said. Whoa indeed. There was a giant chunk of ice, along with several Nevermore feathers jabbed into the ground. Looking on the side of the clearing opposite to us, I saw the temple.

"Chess pieces?" Rick asked, looking to Samantha. _Hold on a second…_ "Wait, there's at least two of every piece, and each pair of students must choose one relic. So, if I'm correct, teams are most likely decided by us choosing the same piece, therefore, we should decide on a pair of pieces, one for Rebecca and I, and one for you two." I said.

"...I feel like we're missing something here." Rebecca said, handing me the Black Rook. "Like something big is going on nearby." She added. "Well, there are other students in the forest, maybe that's it?" Samantha asked, placing the other Black Rook in her satchel, "Maybe…" Rebecca said. "Whatever. We've gotten our objective, let's just get back to the cliffs." Rick said, fiddling with his tie.

"Rebecca Royale, M, Rick Dewitt, Samantha White." We all headed up to Ozpin, going in the order he said our names. "The four of you chose the Black Rook pieces, from this day forward you shall be known as Team Remorse, led by, Rebecca Royale." Professor Ozpin said. I looked over to her, and she seemed completely stunned by this, I thought I'd have to pick her jaw up off the floor. I smirked slightly. "Come on Rebecca, let's go see Goodwitch about our team's assigned dorm."


	4. Chapter 4: Past, Present

_Ugh… Too early… _I trudged from my bed to the dorm room's bathroom, towel in hand. I made sure to lock the door, before I stripped off my clothing, hung the towel on the rack, and stepped in the shower. I turned the water all the way on, and the cold water biting my skin woke me up really fast. I quickly turned down the cold water, simultaneously turning up the hot water. It hit me as I finished and exited the shower that I was in a co-ed dorm. I dried myself off, wrapping the towel around my waist. _Well, they were all asleep before, so I should be alright._ I thought. I slowly opened the door, not wanting to wake anyone. Upon seeing no one else had arisen, I walked over to my pack, pulling out a set of boxers. I moved to the closet, pulling out one of the school uniforms. I figured no one else was still awake, but I still pulled my boxers on underneath the towel, along with my pants. I let the towel fall after that, not really caring if the others saw my various scars.

"M?" I spoke too soon. "Yeah?" I asked, whirling around. "Why are you already up? We don't have classes until nine." Rebecca said, putting her pillow over her head. I picked up the dress shirt, slipping it on. "It's just become instinct for me to wake up anywhere from six-to-seven." I explained, buttoning it up. "Anyways, I'm gonna go for a walk, wanna come along?" I asked, tying the tie. "Nah…" She said, yawning. "Just meet us in the Dining Hall at eight. That's an order." She said, smiling. "Yes ma'am." I said, mock-saluting, to which, she responded with throwing a pillow at me. "Go for your walk." She grumbled, though I could see the smile still on her face. I left the room, heading out to the courtyards. _Samantha's the only one who knows about my past… and I, hers._ I thought. _If the four of us will be working together, we'll need to trust each other. This may include telling our past experiences._ I kept walking, eventually setting down underneath a tree, next to a small pond. I began picking up small stones, tossing them into the pond.

"So, is this where you plan on spending most of your time?" The all-too-familiar voice from my past asked. "Titania, why do you still try?" I asked the holographic figure that had appeared next to me. "Why don't you ask yourself? You were the one who brought me here with you to the school." She said, sitting down, splaying her black and red dress along the ground. "Even so, you know the oath I swore. After killing Maria, I promised never to use your bladed shell again, you remember how much of a mess it made me to even think that I had brought death to someone in this world." I said, dreading the memory. "Don't make a girl a promise, if you know you can't keep it." She said. The etching on her arm only reminded me of the identical ones on her shell. "I've already told you, she did not die by your hand… Nor is she dead now." She said, taking on a slightly darker tone. I didn't want to believe it, but I had known it was true, even back when I first made the promise, but, nonetheless, I closed my eyes, turning away from her. "How was Ratch able to do it?" I asked, only for her to have disappeared before I even turned back. _I hate when she does that… _Though, she did have a point, as I was the one that brought her here, and Maria was still alive, possibly following my every move, as much as I hated to admit it. _I'm going to need to get back into the groove of Swordfighting, I can't deny who I am anymore than I do with my name, though, I will need to take some time to hone my skills once more, I must prove myself worthy of wielding Titania once more. _I checked my scroll; it was only six-forty-five, still at least an hour until I had to be in the Dining Hall. I headed back to the room, retrieving my original sword, Rosary Titan from my pack. I did a test swing, and it felt right to swing a sword again. I headed off to the training rooms, moving to one of the bots, though, Titania appeared in front of me, stopping me.

"Why use one of those when I'm here?" She asked, materializing a cutlass into her hand. "I'll go easy, since you're out of practice." She said. She charged almost instantly after she finished her sentence, almost catching me off guard. I brought RT up, blocking the attack, and the force also pushing me back slightly. I brought out SB with my other hand, swinging at her. She jumped back, then swung at me. I swung up, cancelling the attack, then attempted to swing once more, only for her to block the attack, and for her blade to end at my throat. "Two years, and that's all you can manage?" She asked. I brought RT around in a spinning motion, pushing her cutlass from my throat. She moved back once more. "Why don't we make it just a bit more interesting…?" She said, almost seductively. A second sword materialized in her other hand, and she charged again. She swung both swords from her right side, I brought up RT to block it. I fired SB, she took only one round from it, spinning out of the way and bringing her cutlass around. I blocked, though this left me open to an attack from her other blade from above. I brought up my arm, SB being under my sleeve being the only thing stopping the blade. I forced her blade back with my arm, causing her to stumble, giving me the necessary time to bring RT around and the blade went straight through her holographic form. She smiled, then caused her swords to dissipate. "Now that's what I remember." She said. "Thanks… for reminding me." I said.

"M?" A voice asked. I turned to look at them, and Titania dissipated before the other person fully entered the room. "Rebecca? I thought you said for me to meet you in the Dining Hall?" I asked. "Still got an hour, wanted to train a bit." She stated, stretching a bit. "Speaking of which, who were you talking to before?" She asked. "Just an old friend." I said, though she looked skeptical. "The voice sounded slightly artificial." She stated. I was taken aback at how she was able to hear the slight chirp in Titania's voice pattern. "I took an Artificial Intelligence class back at Signal." She said, my response having broken through the mere metaphorical into the physical. "Well done, Miss Royale." Titania said, re-appearing. Instead of taking a step back like most others do with Titania appearing in front of them, Rebecca took a step forward, examining Titania. "Fascinating… The etchings on your arm, they're from the time of The War, are they not?" She asked. "Titania, is that your name?" "Yes and yes, Miss Royale. Quite an astute one, you are." Titania responded, smiling slightly. "I like her." Titania whispered into my ear. "How was it that your family was able to keep her in a good enough condition for her program to still work?" Rebecca asked, looking towards me. "Most of the weapons used during the war are in museums, or scattered between families, but my family kept Titania in a DNA-locked pedestal, where she was only removed when she was to be passed down, and even then, she was always put back." I explained. "Which was no fun, I might add." Titania huffed. "Well, you don't have to worry about that now." I said, eliciting a thankful look from her. "If I may ask, where is her bladed form?" I froze at this, having hoped to Oum Rebecca wouldn't ask that. "Hidden." Titania answered for me. "In a place that only I know." She added. "I hid it myself, though it is near." "Wait, you're able to make physical contact with other objects?" Rebecca asked, more interested in Titania herself, instead of the bladed shell. "Ratch was quite ahead of his time when it came to AI programming." She explained. "Hence why my holographic form can change to a hard-light one, and why I am able to roam free from the blade, unless it is inserted into the pedestal." She explained. Rebecca seemed in awe at Titania's capabilities. I checked the time, "Seven-Fifteen." I stated.

"Alright, well M, you wanna squeeze in a quick match before Eight?" She offered. I mulled over it for a bit, before pulling Rosary Titan from its sheath and raising it in front of me. "Bring it on." I taunted. She aimed and fired three crossbow bolts at me. I moved to dodge, but one still hit me in the arm. I brought Rosary Titan around to swing, but she simply hooked one of her Crossbow-axe's blades around and cancelled out the motion, before she swung upward with the blades. I brought my arm down just past the blade, forcing the crossbow down. "Clever. I'll be sure not to forget your concealed weapons again." She said, before aiming again and firing. I deflected two bolts with the broad side of my blade, before slicing the third down the middle. While most would be shocked, she simply charged at me, swinging horizontally. I attempted to block, but my blade phased through her. "What?" I looked around, before feeling one of the blades at the back of my neck.

"Sorry, forgot to mention my semblance is the ability to make illusions. Follow the birdie, if you will." She stated. I quickly spun and disarmed her, my own weapon at her throat. Her head was held high, a smirk still on her face. What I didn't see is her pulling a knife from her belt, and she hit me in the side of the head with the end of the handle. I stumbled, and she picked up her weapon again, firing off five bolts. I swung RT around, deflecting four out of the five bolts. Of course, the one I didn't deflect was an explosive, and I got knocked back seconds after it hit. Granted, it was a training explosive, nonlethal, but it still had a good kick to it. I rolled backwards when I hit the ground, staying crouched afterwards. She was already close enough to try and bring the blade down on my head, but I managed to roll out of the way, getting up and swinging RT around. She blocked, but I brought out Subjective Bastille and held it at her throat, to which, she responded by knocking my legs out from under me, causing me to hit the ground with a thud.

"I win~!" She said in a sing song voice. I just laid on the floor, as, it felt comfortable at that moment. I pushed myself to the nearby wall. I didn't want her to celebrate too much, so I kicked her legs, causing her to fall as well. Unfortunately, she fell onto my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. _Not one of my brightest moments…_ Though, she didn't seem to mind, she just started giggling, her arms on my stomach and her head hovering over them. "Take five." I said, letting my head loll backwards to the wall. "We've got at least fifteen." She muttered. Under any other circumstance, the two of us would probably be embarrassed, but both of us were too tired to care, and besides, most guys would kill to have a cute girl lying on top of them. She laid her head on her arms, hers facing towards my own. "Always so stoic. You know, you're about the only person I know whose emotions can't be easily read." She said. "Is that a bad thing?" I chuckled, to which she responded by pouting. "It's no fun if I can't figure out what you're thinking." She said, in a fake whiny voice. I nudged her with my arm, causing her to giggle again. _We've just met, but it's like we're old friends._ I thought, and, the fact that she was now using my stomach as a pillow rather than an armrest reinforced my thoughts. "Well, you're definitely skilled enough to be the leader." I told her. "I dunno, just because I know how to fight doesn't mean I'll be able to make tactical decisions for a group of people." She said, her previously cheery tone having been replaced with one that reminded me of an injured puppy. "Oh, come now, we both know you're more than capable of leading." I reassured. "Thanks…" Though, she still sounded unsure of herself. I ran my hand through her hair a bit, as an attempt to reassure her. She leaned into it, closing her eyes. "It'll all be fine, you can trust me on that."

Rick's POV

"After that, I brought the target back and got my money's worth." I stated. Samantha seemed to hang on my every word of my story. "So, you used your claw weapon, Ripper's Wrath, did you call it, to take them out?" She asked. "Yeah, but it got damaged in the process, that's why I only had JINX during the Emerald Forest trial." I explained. "So, you're telling me your main two weapons are a clawed-gauntlet that can fire dust rounds and shoot electricity from the claws, and a double-barrelled-shotgun that turned into a chainsaw with blades made of plasma?" She asked. "Even I have to say that's a bit overkill." I chuckled, "Going after the targets I have, the two of them are a bit underpowered." I said. "That's because you make a show while you go after them, while I go for a more stealthy approach." She said. "Psst, M and Rebecca entering the Dining Hall together at 6-o'clock." She said before I could interject. Other than Rebecca's hair looking slightly disheveled, they looked normal to me. I looked at Samantha with a questioning look, "What?" I simply made a motion to show I didn't get what she was talking about. "Look!" She whispered. "I am looking! They look normal to me!" I responded, though I knew to keep my voice down. "Are you assuming that just because they entered together that they are together?" I asked, throwing a longshot. "Duh!" She said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "I swear to Oum, if you're one of those people that reads the kinds of novels where people fuck like bunnies a day after they've met, then you've got a rude awakening coming up." I said. "...Does 'Ninja's of-" "Do not even mention that smut filled book." I responded, not even letting her finish the book's name. Before she could say anything else, Rebecca sat down, a calm, but happy expression on her face.

"So how's the team doing?" She asked, setting her tray on the table. "Pretty good, what were you two up to?" I cursed, Samantha having been able to formulate a response quicker than I. "Just a quick sparring match." She responded quickly. Even I could see the light shade of red on her cheeks, causing me to be slightly curious. M sat down next to her.

"All good now?" He asked her. "Yeah, still kinda stressed though." She responded. _Was Samantha right?_ I asked myself. "Hold on a sec, I know just the thing." M stood up from the table, off to get who-knows-what. "Okay, spill." Samantha said, leaning across the table towards Rebecca. "Wh-what? What do you mean?" Rebecca asked, clearly having no idea what she meant. "Don't mind her, she's just hoping something from one of her smut-filled novels that she reads will come to life." I sometimes forget how blunt I can be, which, also, caused Samantha to silence herself, and Rebecca to look on in shock. "Ask her, not me." I said, adjusting my tie and tail-coated-vest. M came back to the table, holding two mugs, "Here." He said, offering Rebecca one of the two. She took it, testing its contents, before quickly drinking the rest of it and placing the mug on the table, gasping for breath. M had sat down during the spectacle, chuckling. "How'd you know?" Rebecca asked after she regained control over her breathing. "Lucky guess. Also, Dark Hot Chocolate is just a good drink that's helped me out before, so I figured why not." He explained, taking a sip from his own mug. "Are you drinking tea?" I asked, just wanting to ask something before Samantha got the chance. "Yeah, it's a habit I picked up a while back." M responded, taking another sip. "And it helps me calm down." he added, setting down the mug and taking some food from his tray. "I know something else tha-" I silenced Samantha by elbowing her in her side. "So, how'd the sparring match go?" I asked. "It was pretty close, but I came out on top." Rebecca responded. "Literally, in this case." M added. "Hey, you didn't have to take me down with you." "No, but I just wanted to show you how comfortable I thought the ground was." "I landed more on you than the ground." "And was there a problem with that?" "Nah, you were more comfortable than the ground." "OHMYGODJUSTKISSALREADY!" All three of us (and more) looked at the person responsible for the outburst, shock, confusion and disappointment on our faces. I think you can guess which went to who. Samantha looked somewhat angry, despite, or due to, her very recent outburst. "Could we talk for a moment?" I more ordered than asked, dragging her from the table into the hall, leaving a set of very confused teammates, and others.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" I practically shouted. "I admit, some of what they're saying may suggest something, but unless they outright say it, that doesn't mean they're together. Not everything is like a fanfiction, you know. They're real people, meaning that if you mention that they're your 'OTP' or anything near 'shipping' them, you'll wish you hadn't come to Beacon." She raised a hand and opened her mouth to say something, but I stopped her, saying "I'm a bartender, you'd be amazed at the kind of things people will tell you for a free drink. I've got dirt on everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, miss Vale Assassin." She shut up at the mention of her alias, causing me to smirk.

"Now, shall we go back to our team?" I asked, an innocuous, but moreso evil, smile on my face. It was good to know that The Sharp Dressed Ripper could so easily unnerve The Vale Assassin. We headed back into the dining hall, Samantha now wary of what I was capable of. M and Rebecca were just talking, what about, I didn't know, for someone with a black ribbon in their hair had caught my eye. I remembered the mysterious attacker during initiation and made the connection.

"Miss Insanity, is it not?" I asked, putting emphasis on 'Miss.' She turned around, eyeing me, curiously, "Who're you?" The woman asked, obviously not interested in what I had to say. "The name's Rick, and that's awful snide for someone who attacked another student during initiation." I retorted, though, she showed no physical response. I looked away, looking into the memorybanks to see if I knew anything about this woman.

_Aha!_

"...The very same who was enslaved at a young age, along with her brother, and now works as a mercenary?" I asked. She stayed silent for a moment too long and I could tell her resolve had wavered, if just for a moment. "What can I do to make you stay quiet?" She asked, obviously not wanting her past to be found out. I could play this one of two ways, one, I simply ask no more, saying that I'll keep it as long as she doesn't cross me, or, I could be 'that guy' and say she has to go on a date with me.

…

…

…

"It's fine, I'll keep your secret, just as long as you don't cross me." I said, dusting off my vest. I turned to walk away, only for her to grab my sleeve, "Wait, that's it?" She inquired. "Why are you so willing to keep my past a secret? You barely know me. What's the advantage for you in this?" "There isn't one. What would I gain from spilling the secret of someone I don't even know?" I left before I could allow her to respo-_Well, shit, there's force against my back, and the ground is getting closer. Damn, I thought I handled that well._ I hit the ground with a thud, blurring my vision. I heard the sound of some kind of blade, and felt something being pressed against my throat. "Just remember, Ricky, if YOU cross me, start telling my secret, I WILL find out, and the day I do, you will wish you had never heard of me, especially not met me. Just keep that in mind." She whispered. An instant later, she was just gone. I got up, staggering when I got to my feet.

"Rick, what on Remnant just happened?" I turned to see the rest of the team had come over to see what the commotion was about. "Just a bit of… insight." I said, dusting off my outfit, not just for show this time. They all looked at me weirdly. _Right, they won't be able to get that joke._ "Anyways, what do we have for our first class?" I asked, wanting to change the subject. "Remnant History Studies." Rebecca said, after pulling out a piece of paper I could only assume was the team's schedule. I began to space out, trying to remember exactly when I had initially heard the name 'Serenity Black,' or 'Insanity' as she now referred to herself.

An unknown amount of time ago…

"The room should be filled with them, it's lined with steel, so you can't use thermal to see inside, proceed with caution." Insight said through our commlink. "Why would I do that?" I said, before bursting through the door, only to find that the people that should have been in the room, were all on the ground, and, by the looks of it, dead. "What the fuck…?" I asked to no one in particular. "Insight, this is Zeta… They're all dead." I said through the commlink. There was silence on the other line for a couple seconds. "How's that possible?" She asked. "Definitely wasn't me." I said. "Duh, use your Thermal Semblance to see if any residual energy is leftover from the other person's Aura." I focused my eyes for a moment, activating my semblance so I could see in thermal vision. Looking around the room, there was a very faint signature from someone, but it wasn't enough to follow.

Wait.

Someone here is still alive.

I rushed over to them, looking over their wounds. Multiple lacerations, possibly a broken leg, and a dislocated shoulder, but they were alive. I may be a merc, but I still have mercy. The person groaned, their eyes creaking open. They coughed blood out. "Keep still, your injuries are near fatal." I said. "Who the hell are you?" They coughed out. "Someone who will get you to safety if you tell me what I want." I responded. I could practically see the thoughts whirling around their head. "What do you want to know…?" They asked. "Just who did this." I responded. They coughed and wheezed, though they smiled some. "Then you should be glad I survived. She's not just some ordinary run-of-the-mill merc, she's Serenity Black, Twin Sister of Marcus Black, though you may know them better as 'Insanity' and 'Vigilante.' Thing is, I knew of the both of them before today." They stated. "Explain." I ordered. "You see, a long time ago, I worked for a radical of the White Fang, and this was before their old leader stepped down." They stopped to take a breath, I could hear a wheeze even in that. "Anyways, this woman had enslaved the two of them at a young age, due to some sort of squabble between her and the twins' parents, I guess as some sort of reminder or something, I dunno, she was fucked up. Eventually, the two of them managed to escape, having found their parents' weapons, and killing anyone who got in their way. Granted, a lot of people got out of the way after seeing what the two of them were capable of, before having a showdown with the woman. I don't know what went down, but I know they left, and she survived too. I left after that, not wanting any more of it. They ended up becoming guns-for-hire, and I guess this group was their target, but our 'fearlesss leader' ran, and she gave chase." They finished. I sighed, satisfied with their answer, but knowing I'd have to be the one to re-locate their shoulder. "Hold still, this is gonna hurt." I told them, taking hold of their arm. "I need to re-locate your shoulder." I told them, and they braced themselves.

Beacon Academy, Present Day

"…Remnant to Dewitt, are you hearing us?" Samantha's voice snapped me out of my memory. "Hm? Oh, sorry, just remembering something." I quickly responded. She just raised an eyebrow at me.

"Anyways, we should get going to our first class." Rebecca chimed in, smiling.

M's POV

The classes that day went basically how you'd expect on the first day; introduction to what we'll be doing, actual work would come tomorrow. The entire team headed back to our dorm first, but everyone seemed to have their own set of plans, and the sun was already low in the sky.

"Alright, you guys have my scroll number. I'll be back before morning." Rick said, changing his school uniform out with his usual apparel, minus his weapons.

"Where ya goin anyway?" Samantha asked, pulling one of the many belts on her boots tight. "Just down to Vale." He responded, tying his bright red tie and stuffing his red bandana so it was just barely visible underneath his dress shirt. "Anyways, I'm heading out on a little excursion of my own, I'll be back before midnight." Before either of us could respond, she ran towards the open window and jumped out of it. "Wait whoa what the fuck?!" Rick said, rushing to the window and looking out. I just walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You'll get used to it." I said, all too familiar with Samantha's preferred way of leaving rooms. Even if they are on the second floor. I admit, seeing his reaction to Samantha getting up and running off after her exit almost floored me, but I keep a level head, albeit smirking.

"Anyways, I guess I'll be off then." he said, taking the door instead of Samantha's exit. It became blatantly apparent that a rather obvious person is missing from the room;

Rebecca.

_Where'd she go? When did she leave?_ Various thoughts whirled around my head. _I shouldn't be this worried_… But something was nagging at me in the back of my mind. _I need to find her._ I switched to my own trademark outfit and set out to find our blue-clad leader.

I ended up finding her on one of the rooftops, curled into a ball against the wall. "Rebecca?" I asked, to which she responded by straightening out and staring at me, the look on her face only able to be described as shock.

"M?" She managed to choke out. I could tell from the dark circles under her eyes and the fact that her eyes were red that she'd been crying. Part of me told myself to leave. I quelled this part, I couldn't just leave her like this. I took a cautious step forward, and she tensed up, so I moved back to where I was before. "I…" She said. I didn't say anything; I didn't want to interrupt her. "I-I can't d-do this." She said, curling back up once more. I tilted my head, as if to say, "Can't do what?" but I already had a suspicion. "I can't lead this team…" She clarified, and confirmed my suspicion. "Yes you can, Ozpin himself saw it in you, and I know you can."

"No I can't!" She shouted, standing up. Tears began falling from her eyes. "Rebecca-" I said, in a failed attempt to reassure her. "NO!" she exclaimed. "I don't care what you think you see, I don't care what Ozpin thinks he sees, I'm a failure!" She took a step closer to me. I took a step back. "Weak, puny, good-for-nothing," I realized she was listing off names she had been called. She was shaking now, her eyes filled with both anger and fear. She inhaled, her breath shaking. "Slut." She added. I stayed quiet, knowing that saying anything now could easily make things worse. She took another step towards me. I stood my ground this time. "Why…?" She asked. "Why do you insist on saying that I'm something I'm not?" She looked up at me, eyes full of disbelief.

"Because you may not be able to see it, but I can." I had no idea where that came from, but I kept going. "You made it into Beacon, obviously you're talented. Weak? Please, you were able to best me in combat. Good-for-nothing? If it wasn't for you, I don't even know if the rest of the team could have made it out of the forest. And a slut?" I scoffed. "People are grasping at straws." I hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn't tense up, she just looked up at me. I soon found myself wrapped in a bone-crushing hug from the blue-clad female, who was now crying into my chest. I didn't know how to react, red in the face and arms hung in the air, I returned the hug soon after.

"I just…" She choked out. "I'm just so scared, M." I ran a hand through her hair, softly smiling down at her. "Just from what I've seen these past few days, I know you will, no, you _are_ a great leader." She hugged me tighter and buried her face into my chest, causing my face to heat up more. "Though, we do need to work on your hand-to-hand." I hesitantly added. She just nodded into my chest. "…But that can wait until tomorrow." I said, looking at the sun, barely still visible over the horizon. I broke off the hug and sat up against the wall, watching the sunset. I gestured to the spot next to me for her to sit-

And then she plopped down onto my lap.

My face soon heated up again. My head was turned upward, and my arms hung in the air once more. She nuzzled her head into my chest and watched the sunset as well. My arms lowered and my face returned to its usual hue in due time. It took me a while to realize that she had fallen asleep at some point, and I had to carry her back to the dorm. Thank Dust no one saw anything.

* * *

><p>[AN Alright, so this is really the chapter I put the most effort into, we have the introduction of Titania, and the mystery of Who is Maria? Only time will tell folks. Next chapter will be focused around Miss Serenity Black, my friend's character. Perhaps she's more than just a merc. Or not. Maybe she's just creepy. I dunno. Also, this is my first time posting on , so I don't know too much about how this works.]]


	5. Chapter 5: Not so Serene

Rick's POV

I snuck back into the school, my latest escapade having taken longer than I expected. Thank Oum I had created a backdoor into the school's security camera system. I pulled up my scroll. I was out of the camera's view, but there was one right around the corner. Setting it to playback for thirty seconds, I rushed through the hallway and out of the camera's view. I didn't celebrate, I still had to get to the dorm. Thankfully, this hallway seemed to be a blind spot in the security system, so I sat down for a small break.

"Well well well… What do we have here, Ricky?" My breath hitched in my throat. /_Of course the one person to find me would be /HER/_ I sighed. "What is it, Miss Insanity?" I asked, too tired to deal with this. "Oh nothing, Ricky, I just happened to notice that you were out past curfew." She said, pointing at a nonexistent watch on her wrist. I just rolled my eyes, pulling up my scroll and checking the nearby cameras. "Might I ask why?" She asked. "No, you may not." I said, standing up and starting to head towards the dorm. I checked the cameras once more. "Was it a clandestine encounter, perhaps?" She asked, looking over my shoulder as I looked around the corner. "Ugh, no." I responded, turning my head so I could just barely see her out of the corner of my eye. Checking the next camera one last time, I waited until it was turned away for me to rush directly underneath it, and then out of its entire view while it was turned back the way I came. It was no surprise to see that she had followed me. "Don't you have something better to do?" I asked after disabling the mic of the stationary camera right around the corner. "It's two AM." She stated, looking at me like I was an idiot. "I don't need this from you." I said, sidling against the wall underneath and past the next camera. "Then who do you need it from? The girl you went to go see?" She asked. I will admit, I had gone down to Vale to see my partner Insight, but for a very different reason from what she was implying. I checked the next camera. Odd. It was already off. I just started walking, but was interrupted by Insanity, saying "I wouldn't step there if I were you." I looked below my raised foot and saw a laser trip wire. /_Ahhh… Ozpin you clever bastard._/ I looked back at her, and she was just leaning with her back to the wall, arms crossed over her chest. "So he makes it look like the camera is disabled, the students let their guard down and just walk through the hall normally, and the tripwire, presumably, turns the camera on so he can see who was sneaking around his school." I said, after double checking the camera was off and muted. She just responded with a shrug.

"By the way, how are you doing that?" She asked, pointing to my scroll. I considered not telling her, but then I decided against it, as it was only fair. "I hacked my own backdoor into the entire school's security system. I've got guard patrol times, maps of the floors, and I can disable any cameras if I really need too, I prefer to not do anything that would make the guard in the security room suspicious." I explained. "I can do it on your scroll too, but it'll have to be tomorrow, cause it takes time." "Alright, I can wait." I didn't know what to make of this girl. Sure, she was attractive, not that I'd ever say that aloud, but then again, she did put a blade to my neck, and managed to pull off something that I would have done, being killing the people in the room all those years ago, yet she is still sociable after doing such a thing.

She reminded me of myself in a weird sort of way.

I blinked, upon realizing I had spaced out, and that she was now waving a hand in front of my face to bring me out of my thoughts. "Hellooooo?" She asked, a mischievous look on her face. "Hm?" I responded. Upon further inspection, I realized that she had taken my scroll from my hand at some point. "Give that back!" I still made sure to keep my voice down. I tried to reach for my scroll, but she turned herself away from me and held me back with her other arm. "Nope." She laughed tauntingly. I reached around with my other arm, but she just moved it away again. "Come on, Ricky, I know you can do better than that." She taunted. "Just give it back, I need it to be able to-"

"Hey you two! You should be in your dorm rooms!" I tensed up on hearing the voice of who I could only assume was a Security Guard. "He hasn't seen either of our faces yet." I whispered. Insanity handed me my scroll. I quickly brought up the cameras once more and I saw the large button I had put on the interface that I promised to use only if necessary, one that would disable all the cameras for fifteen minutes. "You two are gonna have to come with me." The guard said. I heard them getting closer. I turned back, and Insanity was already turning the corner into the next hallway, laughing, having turned on her voice filter. I tapped the aforementioned button and quickly followed after the already sprinting woman, not keen on the idea of being caught and brought to Ozpin. "Hey!" The guard shouted, following after us, though, both Insanity and I had done this sort of thing all-too-often to be so easily caught. Granted, under any other circumstance, we'd just kill the guard, but this circumstance didn't allow for such a thing. I saw a nearby locked classroom, so I hacked through the door's lock and it opened right before she passed it. The both of us took cover in the currently-unused classroom. I slid down to the floor against the door and let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"So what now, smart one?" She asked. I just laughed under my breath. "Gimme your scroll, we've got enough time now that I can hack another backdoor into the security system. Also, you'll need a way to be able to get past the guards without killing them, if you're anything like me, then the thought probably at least crossed your mind when they showed up." She didn't deny it, but she didn't exactly seem too happy by my statement. She reluctantly handed over her scroll, and I got to work. A firewall came up and she just frowned.

"Well that-" I had already entered a couple lines of code and the firewall retracted. "...sucks." she trailed off. The tone of surprise sounded foreign in her voice. "How'd you do that?" She asked, scrambling next to me and practically sticking her nose in the screen. "Well, someone's eager." I chuckled, to which she responded by punching me in the arm. "Jerk." I just rolled my eyes and continued my work, with Miss Insanity looking on intently.

"Teach me." She blurted out. "Huh?" I asked, still holding the scroll with one hand. "Teach me how to do that." She clarified. I blinked. "It took me years to be able to do this, and I don't think I'd be that great a teacher." I'd said the first thing that had come to my mind. "Come ooooooooon" She leaned towards me, making a certain set of assets of hers VERY apparent to me. I kept a level head, having dealt with drunk people at clubs without batting an eye. "Madame, If you could please control yourself, my work would go faster." I more ordered than anything, pointing to her scroll which was still in my hand. As odd as it was, she pouted. "Jerk." She said again. I hit another firewall and a bright white crack showed through the middle of her scroll's screen. "What does that-" "Shh." I cut her off, needing concentration for this moment. I entered a couple lines of code once more and the crack began to fade. Now was the time I needed to act. In the moments the crack was disappearing, I ripped the code for it open and tracked it back to its point of origin, which, of course, was Beacon Academy. I created a tracer program, and it left a tiny backdoor into Beacon's entire network. "What… What did you just do?" She asked. I always loved seeing and hearing people's reactions to what I was capable of. "Simple tracer program that keeps the program meant to find and disable the device of whoever was hacking into the Beacon network, and leaves the access into the network open for whoever can hack their way this far. Basically, it leaves the door open for us." I explained. She just looked at me with her head tilted, but she did look impressed. "I didn't peg you for a nerd, Ricky." She teased, though she still had a slight smile on her face. "You probably wouldn't say that if I wasn't wearing my contacts." I responded, beginning to create another program that had all of the cameras on it, just like the one on my own scroll, as well as a part of it that had constant tabs on locations of all the guards. I handed back her scroll.

"Just open that program and you'll be able to control each camera and keep tabs on any guards patrolling." I explained, pointing to the icon of the program through the holo-screen. She tapped the icon and the program came up no problem. "So, any camera in the school?" She asked. "Only ones in the dorm hallways, but if you need any others I can easily add them for you." I replied, standing up. "The guard should be long gone by now. We should be clear to go." I moved to open the door, but she stopped with a hand on my shoulder. "Thanks, by the way." She added. I just responded with a smile and opened the door.

* * *

><p>M's POV<p>

A week has passed now since my time at Beacon Academy began, and it had become rather apparent to me that after my experience against Maria's right and left hand people, a pair of twins, no less, along with Maria herself, that wielding only one sword instead of two no longer felt right. So, I did the only logical thing; I began to design a new sword, one that would match the power of Titania. Of course, since I currently had no idea where Titania herself had put her bladed shell, I would have to make do with Rosary Titan. I started designing the weapon around the middle of the week, going with a parallel-bladed design that fired from between the blades.

"Is that one to complement myself?" I was all too used to Titania materialising and immediately speaking. "Yup. Whaddya think so far?" I asked, still adding more to the weapon's design. "Well, the weapon itself looks great, but you're gonna need a practical way of carrying both myself and your new weapon." She responded. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of any way to carry the weapons. "Might I suggest something like this?" Titania held out her hand and a hologram of a sort of clamp hovered over her hand. "This is a blueprint for a mechanical clamp that can magnetise around a weapon of certain width and attach to straps, so it can be carried however preferred by the user." She explained. She pushed the air behind the hovering hologram and it hovered over to me. I stopped it, then blew up the hologram so I could get a better look at all the parts individually. "Once magnetised, they can sense through the sword if the handle is grabbed, and the clamp with extend outward so you can pull it out with minimal trouble." She said, moving in between the blown up view of the parts. She glanced at the design and then back at a set of parts. "Hold on…" She made a cutting gesture towards one of the parts and a lower corner of the part sliced off and disappeared. "It'll make sure the sword won't fall out. on the off chance the mechanism fails." She pointed to a certain part of the sword's design that had a slant to it. "Alright, let's get to work.

I cut the larger blade out with a manual plasma cutter from a half inch thick steel and pulled the set of protective goggles from my face.

"Hey, I've been looking at the design and I know it might not do much due to the size of the the parallel blades, but you may want to make the grip and counterweight out of a heavier metal, so the counterweight actually does something." Titania said, examining the blueprints on the wall. "Sounds good to me." I said, moving to the grinding wheel to get the shape of the blade right. I was interrupted before I could do anything else by the all too familiar voice of Serenity Black; Or "Insanity," as she prefers,

"Whatcha got there?" She asked, almost causing me to drop the gigantic blade. "Just working on a new weapon." I said, having regained my composure and turning towards her. I slowly moved in front of the blueprint Titania was in front of just moments before, not wanting Serenity to get any ideas. "So, where's the gun part?" She asked. "Huh?" I responded, but then it clicked in my head, though she explained anyway. "Haven't you noticed that everyone's weapons are also a gun almost one-hundred percent of the time?" In the few seconds I was pondering this, she managed to take the blade from my hands, and bolted out the door.

"Serenity come back! I haven't even tempered i-" And, at that point, I was on the ground. What was it with the females I knew and forcing me onto the ground? "The name, is Insanity." She said, the blade I had cut in her hands. The headache I had answered how I had gotten down here, and, also, caused me to pass out.

"Helloooooo? M, wake uuuuuup!" Titania's voice woke me up from my position on the floor. "Ugh… My head…" My hand found its way to my forehead and I had my teeth gritted as I sat up. "Did she really hit me with the blade of my own sword?" I asked, and she nodded in confirmation. "Well, I don't really feel like chasing her down, so I'll just make the blade again." I said, getting up, but Titania stopped me by clearing her nonexistent throat. "Something wrong?" I asked. "Well… She managed to snag the blueprints as well before she ran off." Titania tested for my reaction. "...Are you serious?"

Samantha's POV

I didn't mean to stay out past midnight, but the target I had to take down proved to be a handful, which explained my being sprawled across my bed in a position others would think less-than-comfortable.

"Samantha…?" A female voice asked me. "Five more minutes…" I groaned. "The others are gone, you should be awake by now." The first R of team RMRS stated. "You try going after-" "An escaped convict, yes I know." I sat straight up and looked Rebecca in the eye. "How-" "Being an illusionary has its perks…" She cut me off again, a copy of herself… standing next to herself. "You're an assassin, right?" She asked. I blinked a few times before slowly nodding. "Well, how 'bout a bit of a game then?" The devious look on her face didn't fit what I'd known about her. "What kind of game?" I questioned. "Simple, I will make multiple illusions of myself, each having one cosmetic difference from myself, such as this." She motioned to the slight difference in the way her hair swayed on her illusion. "And you must figure out which one is real. Once you find the real one, you win the game. However, if you don't find me in an hour, you lose." I thought it over. "How about we escalate it a bit, and have a bit of a wager to go along with this game." I offered. Her illusion disappeared, and the look she gave told me to elaborate. "If I win, you don't get to yell at me for sleeping in for the rest of this year." "And?" She asked. "And, if you win, I'll pay for your dust supplies for two months." At first she looked at me with wide eyes, then she looked away. "Deal." She said, holding her hand out for a handshake to finalize the wager. I smiled and shook her hand. "The wager is set."

She exited the room, and I heard multiple sets of footsteps trailing away from the room in different directions. We'd agreed that I'd give her thirty seconds, then I'd start going after her. What she hadn't said, however, was the fact that the the 'shadow clones,' if you will, would be scattered across the campus. I cursed myself for the giant game of hide and seek I had placed myself in.

Rebecca's POV

"Hey there Becky." That voice. The one that had taunted me all these years, caused me to freeze in my tracks once again. I reached for my knife, only to realize I had forgotten in back in the dorm. I whipped around, and the look on his face shook me to my very soul.

"St-Stay away from me…" I began to back up, only for the wall to end up much closer than I remembered. "Aw, come on Becky, don't be that way." /_Why can't I move… Oh no…_/

M's POV

"Well, do you have any idea where she went?" I asked Titania, to which she responded by simply shaking her head. "Miss, what was it, Insanity? Does not appear to leave any sort of discernible trail behind… Very much like a certain purple-clad faunus we are both all-too-familiar with." I let a small scowl slip through the social walls I had set up over the past few years at the mention of /_HER_/.

"Hey M." The fact that Titania didn't disappear told me the voice belonged to none other than Samantha, as Titania had grown accustomed to her over the past few years, due to Sam's very prominent appearances in my past, including when I first wielded Titania's bladed form. "Anyways, you seen Rebecca?" She asked. I knew her all too well to be able to mistake the tone in her voice; the one she used when she was up to something. "What are you planning?" I asked. "Well, we may or may not have set a-"

I never got to knew what she was going to say, as she was interrupted by a scream; a scream by a voice I had only come to recognize days ago,

Rebecca's voice.

The both of us exchanged a glance then started running to wherever Rebecca was. We were greeted with the sight of another student, maybe just shy of my height, forcing her against the wall with a hand holding her arms behind her back and another at her neck, tracing lower. She had her head turned away from him, a look of pain on her face, and a grin was plastered on his face, one that made me want to lay him out even more than I already did. Samantha immediately ran up and shoved him away from Rebecca, who then slumped down to the floor with her arms over her chest.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" I shouted, moving closer to him. Samantha kept me held back by my arm. "This doesn't concern you." They said. "This concerns me in every way, she is my teammate, and my friend." They laughed at this. My fist clenched, but Samantha still held me back. "What, friends with her? Please, the only reason you'd be friends with her is because Ozpin assigned you all together and because of her tits!" /_That's it!_/ Samantha let go of my arm and I decked the kid in the face, probably harder than I had hit anyone ever before with just my fist. My aura flared into being visible around me. I picked them up from the floor and held them against the wall with my arm choking them. Blood dripped from his nose onto my sleeve. "You think you're hot shit, Oum's gift to man, you are nothing but a worthless pile of shit that needs to learn their place." I raised my fist again, but Titania appeared and stopped me, making me realize how much of my aura was being channelled, and what I was doing. I sighed and let him fall to the ground, where he began to gasp for air. After letting my aura die down, I moved over to Rebecca, who was currently getting off the ground. Her breath was shaky, but I could tell her fear had changed to anger. "Hey, Mark." She said, walking over to the guy who was still on the ground trying to catch his breath. Anyone could have seen the kick to the groin that she did coming from the way she raised her leg seconds before. After a rather feminine scream from him, he went back to trying to regain control over his breathing, and we all left him there in the hallway.

The silence hung in the air for quite some time. I moved closer to Rebecca and she seemed to be less tense. Samantha glanced at her scroll for the time, "Oh shit, I've gotta go!" She ran off down the hall, leaving Rebecca and I alone. "Sorry for that…" She said, and I looked at her like she was crazy.

"Are you really apologizing for what he did?" I asked, louder than I should have. "Th-that's not why I'm apologizing." She stuttered. "I'm sorry I couldn't defend myself." Her head turned to the floor. "I forgot my knife in the dorm…" Her shoulders slumped, and she rubbed her neck, most likely due to what that asshole had done. "You don't need to be sorry." I said. "Forgetting your knife is something any of us could have done." She up looked at me through her bangs. "And we've only been practicing close-quarters for a week, we can't expect instant results." I added. "Thanks, M." A small smile spread across her features.

"You should really smile more often." The both of us were surprised by my outburst."I-I mean, well, it's a shame to hide something like that." /_W-Wait what?_/ "Wh… Where is this coming from?" She looked away, blushing slightly with the tiniest hint of a smile. /_Okay, I've gotta do it._/ "Is that a smile I see?" "Wh-What?" She looked at me with wide eyes, before covering her mouth. "I can't believe you'd manipulate a girl's heart like that!" She wasn't mad, just very, very shocked. I smiled as well, laughing somewhat. She pouted for a second, but then I swear I saw a lightbulb over her head. The next thing I knew, a certain purple-haired Illusionary had wrapped her arms around my neck-and her lips were locked with mine. It was a short, chaste kiss, but it felt like an eternity for the both of us. I fought to keep the blood from rushing to my face after the kiss broke off. She smiled and moved her head in a 'I win!' sort of way. A question that I didn't think needed answering came to mind.

"...Wait, so are we…?" "Together? I would imagine so. It kinda needs to be a mutual agreement, though." She said, still blushing from the boldness of her previous action. Since her arms were still wrapped around my neck, I tilted her head up and initiated another kiss, this one lasting longer than the last. "I think that answers how I stand on this development." I said after breaking off this kiss, to which she responded by letting out a series of giggles I could only describe as melodic. "I don't think we should tell the others just yet, though." She said. I nodded. "That's fine by me. They don't need to know what doesn't involve them." She tucked a tuft of hair behind her ear and smiled up at me.

After informing Rebecca of my current situation, that being how Miss Insanity had stolen the blueprints and blade of the weapon I was dubbing 'Silent Judgement,' she agreed to tag along and help me find out where she had gone.

"Any idea at all where she went?" Rebecca asked. I shook my head. "All I remember is getting knocked out with the blade I had forged." "Wait, she knocked you out with a blade that big?" I just nodded in response. "Wow. She's stronger than she looks." She seemed to mull over something in her head. "Why'd she take the thing anyway?" I stopped walking and thought it over. "No idea. I don't think I've done anything to piss her off, so she may have just done it for the fun of it." I shrugged and kept walking. Oh, if only I had known at the time…

* * *

><p>Rick's POV<p>

I was still wondering why I had come here. At the time, I had no reason to, and yet, there I was, striking up casual conversation with Insanity Black once more. I dunno, something about her just caught my interest. Currently, our conversation was about her alias.

"A name like yours, it doesn't just crop up, it must've been earned." I stated. I currently had my gauntlet, Ripper's Wrath on my arm, with the sharpened claws extended. I leaned against the wall, waiting for a response.

"Well, that's another assumption of yours that is correct." She said, keeping her same calm demeanor. "Well, even in Insanity, one can find peace." She let out a laugh under her breath. "Been there, done that, I promise you, Rick, there is no peace once you're on my level of this. You know what I've been through, well, the sugarcoated version. But, believe me when I say, I'll find peace in death, there's nowhere for me to find peace, not in this lifetime. It's just a word." She still had the calm demeanor, but it was waning somewhat. A thought lingered in my head, and I pushed off the wall. "Then… Let me ask you something, what do you think of those who find peace in the insanity of others?" The question was laden with implications, but she took no notice. "I simply think they are lucky. I don't question it. I just accept the fact that I can't have that luxury." I had chipped away a small portion of the wall, as far as I could tell. "Heh, a luxury, that's one word for it." In truth, I did find some peace in other's insanity, but it didn't help in any way. "Well, it's not like I can describe it, if you ask me, it's exactly what it looks like." Her calm demeanor had returned. "I'm more familiar with such a subject than you may think." I leaned against the wall and retracted the claws of Ripper's Wrath, looking to the floor. "What happened to her?" Insanity asked me, leaning towards me. I let out a dry chuckle, "Nothing happened to her, my partner Insight is still alive and kicking. But… There are some things I can't come back from."

"_Rick, please, don't do this!" "I'm sorry, I've no choice!" "NO!"_

She took a breath, then blurted out, "What is it like?" She tensed up, looking at me. She seemed to be keeping something back. "Peace, I mean." She added. I let out a sigh. "I'm gonna be honest, I haven't felt true peace in… a long time." I didn't actually remember the last time. "There have been rare moments where I've gotten close… But things have never really gone my way." I looked directly into her eyes, and she looked right back, her own showing no light. "I've got plenty to distract me, but no one's ever around when my distractions run out." I was shaking somewhat. She looked away after a moment. "I know how that feels." /_You're probably the only one…_/ I thought. "I would imagine you've had it worse." I paused, choosing my next words carefully. "Do you… Feel, anything anymore? From killing, I mean. Do you have any regrets?" I don't think I'd ever spoken so sincerely. She only scoffed. "My only regret is not killing that woman. No, I don't feel anything. I don't look in my victims' eyes. It keeps most of the memories away." My hand balled into a fist, not out of anger, but as a way to keep my head. "That's where you and I are different then, I guess." I paused again. "It is my own doing, though, I swore an oath to let them rest in peace, something I know I will never be allowed." She halfheartedly scoffed. "Why on Remnant would you do that?" I half smiled. "Let's just say… It ran in the family." I left it at that. "Ahh…" She trailed off. She then turned to me, eyes full of mischief. "So, I have to ask, you ever had a girlfriend?" She chuckled at her own bait to lighten the mood. I bit.

"Well, if Insight counts, then yes. If not, then I don't think bits of flirting in and out of clubs count either." I chuckled, but I was glad for the subject change. "No, flirting doesn't count, and if you thought of Insight as just your partner, then no, but if there was something more, then yes." She grinned. I feigned thought. "Hmm… Then I guess not." Anyone could've seen the mischievous look in my eye. She giggled and stuck her tongue out at me, then she began to fiddle with the ribbons in her hair.

"Then, let me ask you something, you ever had a boyfriend?" I knew I may well regret the question, but what's done is done. "Nope, haven't flirted with a boy either." I wanted to say something really cliche at this point, but I held my tongue. "Well, that's no fun." Was all I said. She raised an eyebrow, seeing through the fact I was holding something back. "What? Sounds like there's supposed to be more than that." She teased. "Oh, nothing." I said, grinning, making it obvious I was lying. "Tell me!" She pressed on, poking my cheek as well. I turned to her, "What's in it for me?" I leaned against the wall once more. "I'll give you anything you want from my lunch for the next month." She offered. I faked thinking over. "Hmmm… No deal." I shook my head. "Sammy's the one who can be bartered with through food." She pouted, something that was starting to seem less out-of-character for her the more I got to know her. "Fine then, what do you want?" She asked.

/_She's probably gonna slap me._/

"It's simple, and you get part of the answer right here and now as well, a date." She froze and looked at me, her cheeks flushed a light pink. I will admit, I did slightly revel in the fact that I was able to make her react in such a way. "Is that a no?" I asked, tilting my head and leaning forward.

M's POV

"We should probably just call it a night for now." I said. "It's not like she would leave the school with the blade and blueprints."

"I guess." Rebecca said. "Tomorrow's Sunday anyways, there's more than enough time." the two of us just headed back to the dorm, as there was nothing better to do.

"So, you said your alias is "The Red Swordsman,' right?" She asked, plopping onto my bed behind me and catching me off guard. "Mind telling me how you got that name?" I swear I stopped breathing. "Well…" I said, after a long pause. "There was… a woman, one whom I considered family, one who cared for me. We'll call her Madame. She and my father were close. We all trusted one another, but, well, one little scheduling mishap, and I walked in on something I shouldn't have; a murder, a murder of my own father. I tried to run, but both myself and Samantha were caught, and Madame revealed she was a part of the White Fang. We were tortured for what we knew, and for our cooperation." I unconsciously ran my thumb over the scar on my lip. "But, there was another, a woman, one who Madame had believed loyal to her, but she helped both Samantha and I escape. Or, rather, in the first step of that plan, beginning with my retrieval of Titania. See, Madame wanted to use the power to Titania to the advantage of the White Fang. We had to fight our way out. It wasn't until I was able to best the twins with my newfound strength-semblance combined with my first attempt at dual-wielding that I had to face Madame. I somehow convinced Sam to run and get out of there on her own. It had turned out that we were not in a secluded building, but rather, a massive air-based ship, and the showdown between myself and Madame was above the ship's drive core. It was only with my dual-wielding and pure luck that I managed to knock her off the side of the platform, and, in the last second, I grabbed her hand as she was falling. She said something to me, then she forced herself from my grasp, and fell into the drive core. The look on her face will forever be etched into my mind. Someone, I still don't know who it was, appeared afterwards, giving me a choice, a choice of whether I would keep my name, or leave everything behind. I chose the coward's way out." I was shaking now. Rebecca placed her hands on my shoulders and her head on one of her hands. "I killed her." I looked down. Titania's words flashed through my mind. "Or, so I thought." I corrected. "My actions that day left me broken. I no longer had any family, I was on my own. I walked alone." My breath was shaking as well at this point. She turned her head towards mine. The two of us just stared into each other's eyes for the moment.

"You don't have to be alone anymore." There was a pause, then the two of us burst into laughter soon after at her overly-cliche line. "Okay, cliche-ness aside, I'm here for you." She said after our laughter died down. I nodded, a smirk on my face. It wasn't until now that the two of us noticed our close proximity. We both looked down at the other, then back up to meet the other's gaze. I don't know who made the first move, but, nonetheless, our lips locked, and we both closed our eyes, that is, until we both fell onto the bed. We just started laughing again after we had realized what had just happened.

"Hey guys I-" It was at this moment that it became very apparent to both Rebecca and I of what this may have looked like, we were a guy and a girl, with one laying on top of the other. Both Rebecca and I looked at the intruder, who was none other than Rick. All three of us sat in stunned silence.

"...Am I intruding?" He asked in a teasing tone. "N-no! We weren't…!" Rebecca said, and Rick fell into laughter. "It's fine, I won't say anything." He said, closing the door behind him and moving to the closet. "You two always seem to find yourselves in the most implication-filled situations." Rebecca and I looked at each other.

"So, you seem to be in a rather good mood." Rebecca said, getting off of me. "Hm? Do I?" Rick turned to us, eyebrow raised. I nodded. "You even have a slight spring in your step." I added. he thought it over for a second, "Well, I suppose getting a date with Insanity Black may have to do with it." He said this so casually, but both Rebecca and I's jaws hit the floor. He chuckled at our reactions. "You two gonna need tire jacks to get those back in place?" After reattaching my jaw, I asked how he managed such a thing. "She's actually not that bad, if you get the chance to know her." He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "She's human too, y'know. Well, Faunus, I think, but you get my point. She's a person. A slightly insane person, but a person nonetheless." "You've somehow managed to sympathize with a psychotic mass-murdering-assassin." Rebecca said as bluntly as Rick himself would have. He just looked at her with an 'Are you serious?' face, with one of his hands gesturing to himself. "Can't argue that one." She said, now drawing the similarities between the two. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into." I said. I hadn't really talked with our resident incarnate of her namesake, but I was still concerned for my teammate. "I'm not gonna tell you what you should and shouldn't do, but just watch yourself around her." I said, raising myself up from my laid-back position. He just shrugged. "I think I can handle her."

Rick's POV, about five minutes earlier.

"Alright then, tomorrow work?" I asked. "Should be fine, I'll have to tell Vigilante though." She responded. It didn't occur to me how her brother might react. "Do whatever you need." This development put me in a sort of ease. "Would you prefer a club or a restaurant?" "That's for you to come up with." She said, not missing a beat. "Alright, I'll surprise you then" I said, pushing off the wall and winking at her. She blushed, twirling her ribbon around her finger and watching me leave.

* * *

><p>The Next Day, before the date.<p>

I stared into the mirror, adjusting my tie for the hundredth time that night. I wasn't nervous, I just needed to get the tie in the right position. I pulled back my sleeve and checked the concealed form of Ripper's Wrath.

"You alright there Rick?" M asked me, moving to an upright position on his bed. "Never better." I said, pulling my more formal coat from the closet. "Alright, whatever you say, just let me know how the date goes." He said, going back to his book. "I will." I said, leaving the dorm.

I knew Insanity may not have had the highest of standards, but I had chosen a restaurant that was not quite fancy, but not low end either. Before long, I found myself in front of team CMSM's dorm and knocked, not sure what to expect. The door opened after a moment, and the sight was breathtaking; she wore a long red skirt with a slit in it, with a matching long-sleeved, open shoulder shirt. Her hair was down and her trademark black ribbons were put into four bows in it.

"Hi." She said. "Wow…" My eyes widened from what I meant to keep in my mind. "I mean-Uh-you look nice!" /_Nice save idiot_./ "A-Anyways, we'd better get going, our reservations are set for six." The current time was Five-Fifteen, but it was a bit of a walk. She rolled her eyes, most likely due to my outburst, and nodded. "Ok." She grabbed her coat, which didn't exactly match her current outfit in any way, then returned to my side. "So where are we going?" She asked. "A restaurant in downtown Vale. Been there myself, the steak there is great, but it has a wide enough menu for any sort of food palette." I stated, matter-of-factly. "Ooooh, steak!" She chuckled. "Alright, let's get going." I was tempted to offer my arm, but I didn't want to overstep any boundaries. She smiled, and we headed down to the airships. I noticed she was looking around, more than one would just for a simple walk.

"Is something wrong?" I asked as we stepped onto the airship. "Huh? Oh no I'm just a paranoid person." She smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. "A Merc being paranoid, now that's a new one. I won't judge, I'm just saying it's uncommon." She laughed at this, "I'm an uncommon person." She pointed out, and I shared in her laughter. "Can't argue that." The two of us then remained in a comfortable silence in the airship trip down to Vale. I stood up a couple seconds after we landed, and held my hand out in a 'gentlemanly' manner towards her.

"Shall we?" She smiled and took my hand, and I led the pair of us to a restaurant called Nightfire. After confirming our reservations, we were led to our table and given menus. I only took a quick glance, as I already knew what I would order.

"So, what are you gonna order?" I asked, tilting my head after she had set down her own menu. "Ribs, you?" She smiled, then glanced away, her cheeks flushed. "Sorry, it's weird for me to be smiling." She muttered, stopping herself from smiling. "It's something I'd be more than happy to get used to." I said, to which she only responded by looking at me, without a word, though her still red cheeks said what she didn't. The waiter soon arrived, and we both ordered our meals, though she looked at the table after she finished her order. A thought popped into my head.

"Oh!" The waiter turned back to me. "And a bottle of Red Wine as well." They nodded and headed off.

"You don't need to have any if you don't want any." I said when they brought us the wine and glasses. Insanity simply smiled and poured herself a glass. "I've got a strong alcohol tolerance." She chuckled, handing me the bottle. "Well, I'll have to put that to the test one day." I said, winking. She just rolled her eyes, taking a sip of the wine.

"So, did Marcus say anything about you going on a date?" I wasn't sure if I should have asked that, but I did it anyways. She scoffed, nodding. "Oh yeah, he went on and on about how he's worried about it. He's protective. But it didn't last long at least." She said plainly. "Well, that's to be expected, I suppose."

Our food arrived shortly after. Both She and I tucked our respective napkins into our shirts. It was at this point that I noticed the scar on her collarbone, but I realized I was staring, so I picked up my knife and fork, slicing at my steak. At some point, she looked up from her ribs, not looking at me, but something behind me. "...Is something the matter?" I asked after some time. She shook her head and looked back down at her plate. I just shrugged. "Alright, but let me know if something's bothering you." I said, placing another bit of steak in my mouth upon finishing the sentence. She just nodded and continued eating. We sat in silence from there until I finished eating, she had finished before I had.

"Okay, I hate to ask, but what's gotten you so wound up? You're usually pretty talkative, at least from what I've seen." She just looked up at me and shrugged. "I dunno, a lot on my mind I guess." I didn't want the night to end so young, but I didn't want to force her into anything. "Alright. Would you care to go on a walk or would you rather go back to Beacon?" I asked. "I'm okay with a walk." She said calmly, smiling. "Do you want dessert first or should we go now?" "Nah, let's head out." She smiled again. "Alright then. Waiter!" As we paid for our meals, I swore I felt something, or someone, watching us from outside.

* * *

><p>Well, maybe Miss Insanity isn't as bad as previously thought. Or maybe she's simply got nothing left to hide from a certain Sharp Dressed Ripper. And, at last, our resident Illusionary and Swordsman have become a couple, but decided against telling the others. Let's see if that changes anything, and let's see if Rick is correct in his thinking someone is watching. And, lastly, let us see if Titania is correct in saying Madame is still alive. Find out in the next chapter, 'In Which, Nothing Goes to Plan.'<p>

P.S. Check for Insanity's date outfit.

P.P.S. Preview of the next chapter for whoever gets a certain reference I made.


End file.
